"My god, Musalis! What's so surprising?! You act as if we're allies of some kind." Jaedin gave a short, huffy chuckle. "We're clearly not."

Musalis' most recent trick of the mind had been the last straw Jaedin needed to snap.

Musalis' seemingly blind faith in him had begun to wear on Jaedin's nerves. It was irritating to think he was being forced into helping her simply because she assumed his cooperation. Most might wince at the notion of refusing to help someone - especially a woman. But Jaedin could care less who Musalis was or what she intended to accomplish. His only concern lay in staying safe and ensuring Musalis didn't pose any real threat to him. Whether she had to be [un]dead or alive for that to be guaranteed mattered little to the travel-worn ninja.

"Trinix!"

Jaedin called out to his companion again, letting his voice echo and fade into the recesses of the town like the fragments of his memory slowly slipping from his grasp. Within seconds, the hound came bounding out into the street where both Musalis and Jaedin stood facing each other. In the time they had been apart, Trinix had meandered his way a couple dozen yards past (behind) Musalis. Jaedin stood roughly the same distance in front of Musalis; maybe a little less.

With hardly a nod of impetus from his master, Trinix dug his claws into the road and sprang into a full-on charge towards Musalis. As he tore down the road, a single glimmer sparked at the tip of Trinix' nose and traveled down the length of his body. As the line passed over him, his dark fur turned to rigid, obsidian spikes, providing protection from some of the more common threats he faced [Bristle].

In truth, Trinix would never actually reach Musalis. At least, not yet. Though the canine was fast, he still had a lot of ground to cover, which gave Musalis more than enough time to cook up some incantation for Jaedin and his companion to handle. Besides, Jaedin's true (and currently only) advantage lay in putting Musalis "between a rock and a hard place". But that would beg the question: who was the rock, and who the hard place?

"I never thought we were allies.", Musalis said, quietly. Her current worldview had shattered. She had thought that Jaedin was just being reluctant, but she had really, truly believed that... "I thought we were friends."

There were times when Musalis regretting being a skeleton. Most times, it didn't matter, and often it was even beneficial not to have to breathe, or eat. But sometimes there were just things that she wished she could do but could not. Things like crying. Or pretty much any expression of emotions, except for through her voice. So caught up in her misery was Musalis that while she heard Jaedin calling for Trinix, she was too caught up in her misery to understand what it meant, or to care.

"Fine then!", she shouted at Jaedin, "I... I don't need your help anyway! I'll do just fine on my own!"

Musalis turned away, not wanting to see any more of the man who in her eyes had betrayed her. She turned, and began to walk away and then to run. Which inevitably lead to her being confronted with a wolf. Normally, in such a situation, Musalis would have paused and tried to figure out what the best way to proceed was. But she was currently just not in the right frame of mind to see the wolf as a threat. It only seemed to be a small nuisance to her; stopping her from getting away from Jaedin. And so, without regard for herself, she swung at the wolf with her Battle Tuning Fork. She didn't even consider the fact that, since wolves have soft fur, most of her weapon's power wouldn't work, and that it would be not much better than a normal piece of metal. She also didn't notice that the wolf had hardened his fur, and this made the previous point moot and even enhanced the effect of her weapon. No, to Musalis' mind, she was just swatting a nuisance aside like you would a fly.

What dumb luck! While Jaedin would have preferred Musalis continue to face him, she had instead turned and conveniently come face-to-face with the oncoming threat behind her. In truth, it made sense - Musalis clearly no longer wanted to parley with him. Walking away really was the only other option outside of a head-to-head fight. As if on cue, a light breeze rose from the ground, letting the priestess' robe ruffle dramatically in the wind. (All that was needed was an explosion from which she could walk away. Alas, none occurred). Jaedin couldn't help but admire the picturesque imagery. But his own sentimental were quickly swept aside when Musalis took a swing at Trinix.

The wolf saw Musalis idle swing at him and dug his claws into the ground to come to a skidding halt only a couple feet in front of her. He ducked low to the ground to avoid the oncoming blow and promptly darted off to the right to ensure Musalis didn't try to follow up with another attack. It wasn't Trinix' job to attack right now, anyway - he'd only been a distraction. He ended up atop some of the rubble from the slowly-collapsing building.

Jaedin hadn't anticipated how irritating it would be to watch someone try to hurt Trinix - and with such nonchalance, at that! Maybe he'd been out of the game for longer than he remembered. Memories were becoming harder and harder to come by. But regardless of his memory, seeing Trinix narrow dodge and how helpless he dodged away from Musalis put Jaedin's blood on a low simmer. He would not stand by and let Trinix face danger alone. Even if Jaedin was the one who instigated this confrontation in the first place and put Trinix in harm's way, he wouldn't leave his friend alone.

Now Jaedin had to cover much the same distance that Trinix had, but he had to do it with two less legs. Running wouldn't do what he needed fast enough, so flying was his next best option.

With his hookshot still in hand, Jaedin took off sprinting after Musalis. Well before he came close to her, Jaedin fired his hookshot at the ground, releasing a burst of thrust that sent him soaring up into the air [Advanced Machinery]. He realized he'd already tried this with mixed results. But Jaedin didn't so much remember the downsides as he did the benefits of landing a blow. Instead of shrouding the area surrounding Musalis in darkness, he'd try the more brutish approach; bashing her skull in. Jaedin was set to land just behind where Musalis would be in a moment. When he did, he'd bring his hookshot down on her, using the additional force of his fall to add weight and strength to the attack.

Emotions were swirling inside Musalis. Hot rage at being betrayed. Crippeling fear that this was her fault, that everybody left because of her, and that she would never be able to keep a friend ever. Irritation at herself for walking away instead of trying to work things out. Creeping confusion as she tried to remember how this had all gone so wrong. She could only remember... snippets. They had met - had they met here in this town? Or had they walked here together? She couldn't remember. Each moment, more memories seemed to slip away from her. That was part of the problem they had discussed, wasn't it? Had they discussed a problem?

Musalis gritted her teeth in annoyance. Life and betrayals were bad enough when you could remember what was going on. This way, however, there was just no telling. If she couldn't remember who had started this argument between her and... the other person whose name she couldn't remember... then how could she reasonably react to it? What if this was really her fault, and she just didn't remember? Was she being a jerk because she just walked away? Possibly. Well, just to be safe, she should probably apologize. If this situation was her fault, then it was the right thing to do. If it wasn't her fault, then... well, apologizing couldn't do any harm.

Musalis stopped walked and turned around, to address the stranger. That saved her unlife. Something crashed into the ground where she would have been a moment later had she continued walking. Instincts, earned through many battles, made Musalis turned at the sudden sound and draw her weapon. She didn't stop to ascertain the identity of her attacker; he had tried to kill her. There would be time for that later. Instead, she ducked into a low crouch, hoping to avoid any follow-up blows at her head. She used her Battle Tuning Fork to strike at a leg right in front of her. Without waiting to see what that would do, if anything, she rolled off to her right and got back up in one smooth motion. Ducking low might be good for avoiding attacks, but she couldn't be caught low on the ground - being stepped on was a clear recipe for disaster.

Naive or not, Musalis certainly had good fortune to thank for keeping her head on straight. Jaedin couldn't understand why the priestess would turn around so suddenly; maybe the sound of crunching machinery gears from Jaedin's hookshot had alerted her. Her penitent attitude could be a ruse to lure Jaedin into complacence, though such an ambitious goal seemed ill placed here. Jaedin just wanted to walk away. But what troubled him now was that he couldn't remember what he wished to walk away from.

Jaedin landed with a thud only feet in front of Musalis, with his back to her. Confidant of an impending attack, Jaedin whirled around to his right. Though her strength might not measure up to Jaedin's, the sound of Musalis swinging her weapon at him sang through the air like steel on steel, echoing in Jaedin's ears and alerting him to the oncoming threat [Sensory + Quick Trigger]. With only a hookshot in hand, Jaedin lashed out at the oncoming weapon to bat away from his exposed legs. Indestructible weapon met w/ musical instrument, producing a piercing, harmonic note that cut through the eerie silence that permeated the dilapidated town in which they fought.

While Musalis dove off the right, Jaedin noted the wreckage off to his right atop which Trinix sat patiently. By the look and sound of the ruins, this wreckage was freshly made. What struck Jaedin as curious was that he found no reason why the structure would suddenly implode. Sure, the rest of the town around him looked a bit old and forelorn. But they were certainly no closer to collapsing than he remembered this one to have been.

And another thing: Had his opponent attacked him with a...tiny trident? She handled it more like a short sword or long dagger, yet the strange weapon had two tines forking off from the main handle. Jaedin knew some forks only had two tines, but surely it wasn't simply an oversized piece of cutlery. By the distinct, crisp sound it made, Jaedin might have thought it to be some musical instrument. But who fought with instruments, except drunk men at a local Battle of the Bards competition? This girl, whoever she was, didn't seem like the drunken, carousing type.

A jarring bark from Trinix jolted Jaedin from his own thoughts, reminding him of the danger he faced. Obviously, his opponent knew more than she'd let on; she had avoided direct confrontation, clearly aware that Jaedin thrived in fast-paced, closed quarters combat.

[Telekinesis]

Letting his eyelids close for a moment, Jaedin let ethereal psychic energy pour from his mind down to his body. He could feel the energy course through his body and into his left arm, willing it to raise itself, hand open and palm facing Musalis. For a brief moment, Jaedin's mind was clear; free from the headache constantly pounding on his senses. When he opened his eyes again to see Musalis (presumably) standing up from her duck-and-roll, Jaedin saw with a focused mind. It was with this trained focus and determination that he had harnessed this power of the mind; it was also how he would unleash it.

Jaedin released a wall of telekinetic energy at Musalis, who should only have been only a couple yards from him by now. The force at this range would not be crippling, but Jaedin was no novice at this anymore: the impact from this power of will would easily knock Musalis back several feet, much like getting hit by a brick wall.

While Musalis got up, she tried to get an overview over the situation. It was the middle of the battle, but she had fought enough of them to get an impression of a situation fast. Her opponent seemed familiar - from the King of Darkness Tournament, if she wasn't mistaken. Had he come to get revenge? Or to finish the job and kill her? Musalis was a bit hazy on the details of the Tournament, most of it had devolved into her trying to stay alive at any cost while doing as manage damage as possible. Musalis stopped that line of thought, she didn't have the time to consider the past. Her gaze took in the wolf on the rubble, and noted it as a threat. However, it didn't seem to move, so it wasn't registered as an immediate threat, and she focused on the opponent before her instead. She was now on her feet again, and he was holding an empty hand towards her... crap.

No weapon but an aggressive stance meant magic or some other similar force. Those were always annoying to fight against, especially since they tended to be ranged, and you didn't have the warning of an attack that swinging a weapon gave you. Anybody new to fighting could easily mistake this for a strange gesture, and look at it curiously. Musalis, instead, dove to her side, hoping to avoid the attack if it was a beam. That was the other annoying thing about ethereal forces. You never knew what form the attack would take. This problem was illustrated quite well when she was hit despite her evasive manoeuvre. A wave of force slammed into her, and pushed her with it, as if she were a leaf caught in the wind. Unlike a leaf, however, she fell quickly to the ground again once the wave was past her.

Lying on the ground, Musalis groaned. Her entire body was aching, and she was hoping that nothing had broken. Standing up seemed like an unsurmountable problem - and what for? She'd just get knocked down again. Musalis focused, and squashed the feeling of defeat. She didn't have time for that, or for the pain. This was a battle, and if she wanted to survive, she needed to fight, not lay on the ground as an easy target.

Musalis winced as she got up on sore feet. Most of the intense pain of the initial shock and impact was started to subside into a dull ache. Musalis looked around, slightly confused. Why exactly was she hurt? She could only remember the brief moment of pain, filling her entire mind, pushing out anything else. Before that... nothing. Had the pain messed with her memory?

Finishing to scan her surroundings, Musalis concluded that the wolf was probably what had hurt her. She was tempted to attack it in retaliation immediatly, but... well, with her lapse in memory, it was probably a good idea to wait for a few moments to be sure that she understood the situation correctly. For instance, was the other person on the street on her side in the fight against the wolf? Or was he an innocent bystander, unable to defend himself? That could be quite important for the future plans she'd make in this battle.

Why was she even attacked by a wolf? The last she could remember - before becoming aware of the intense pain - was... walking towards a village? Which was probably the village she was in now. And then she'd stopped, and...

The Past wrote:

Musalis was walking towards through some ill-kept fields towards a town. She was whistling to herself, some old tune whose words had been long lost. Soon, she reached a very weatherworn sign where the name of the town should have been; but constant pressure from the elements had made it unreadable. Musalis stopped.

"I think this should be a good place to do this...", she said to thin air, "Ahem. Dear future me. I am now venturing out into this town, where people apparently loose all there memories of the time they spend inside it. At least that's what the book I read claimed. I am quite certain that it is only silly superstition. But, in case the book is right, this message to myself. Uhmmm... yeah, I guess that's it."

Musalis slowly continued walking.

"Oh, and I almost forgot.", she said to herself, "In case this works, I absolutely have to remember to..."

after which the memory faded, and the next things she could remember was the intense pain. No information on why a wolf would attack her or what it was doing in the village. Or maybe the wolf hadn't even attacked her, maybe she had attacked it? Yes, that made sense - a wolf in the village would scare the villagers, which would explain why there was nobody else on the streets. And so they had probably hired her to get rid of it. Fighting a wolf was well within her capabilities, so she'd probably accepted. Which only begged the question for why she was apparently loosing. Maybe there was more to this wolf than it looked like. She would have to be careful.

Throbbing pain once again washed over Jaedin's mind like the constant tides of the ocean; the momentary clarity from his latest endeavor had quickly subsided, leaving this awful pounding in its place. Unconcerned w/ Musalis at the moment, Jaedin rubbed his temples with his free hand, trying to alleviate some of the tension running through them. He liked to think that it helped, but the constant drumming didn't seem to lessen much. Why was his head pounding so much?

What's going on...

Behind him, Trinix barked vigilantly to alert Jaedin to something. The ninja glanced back at his companion; Trinix seemed none the worse for wear, having perched himself conveniently upon a pile of rubble that served as an entrance to the remaining pieces of the building behind it. Tongue lolling out to the side and head cocked, Trinix didn't seem too concerned about anything. So, of what was he warning Jaedin? If the situation were so serious, why would Trinix just sit there panting? Or, seeing Jaedin's apprent, mental pain, perhaps the wolf was just trying to keep Jaedin conscious and focused.

When Jaedin turned back, Musalis had just returned to her feet and was taking in her surroundings. The priestess looked a bit travel weary, but seemed to be an otherwise harmless presence in the area. But no matter how harmless, Jaedin would have noted her long before he'd seen her now. There was no way a lone figure could get the drop on him and Trinix. (Perhaps she was the target of Trinix' alerts). The test of time had ingrained the instinct of suspicion deep in Jaedin's psyche - headache or not, he immediately knew he couldn't trust Musalis. Something didn't feel right about this situation. And even if he couldn't put his finger on why, Jaedin felt on edge.

His feelings of distrust might suggest why he had unhitched his hookshot from his belt, but that wasn't like him - Jaedin didn't just walk around toting his hookshot whenever it pleased him. No; he only went to the trouble of drawing his weapons when they were necessary. So, why was it necessary he be holding his hookshot? Why could he feel the lingering remnants of telekinetic energy trickling through him? There were so many questions Jaedin had, and it felt like he knew the answers. Like recalling an elusive, distant memory, he just couldn't remember!

Warily raising his hookshot towards Musalis, Jaedin queried, "Who are you? What do you want with me? Why have you hidden yourself until now?"

"I do not believe I hid myself.", Musalis said, though her attention remained mainly focused on the wolf, in case it decided to attack. She did notice that he levelled a ranged weapon at her. Why the stranger was threatening her with his weapon instead of focusing on the wolf? Maybe he hadn't seen the animal? Either way, it was probably a misunderstanding. And as long as the wolf didn't attack, they could talk it over and figure out what was going on.

"However, I cannot be sure. You see, there is a legend that this town constantly erases the short-term memories of all its inhabitants. And, since I cannot recall anything at all since entering the town, I assume that legend is true. Unfortunately, this also means that I have no idea what I did since then. I can only try to figure it out from evidence. I seem to be hurt, so I assume that I was in a fight of some sort. The only danger I can see is the wolf over there - you were aware that there is a wolf, right? - so I guess I fought it for some reason. But I can't be sure. It does seem suspiciously calm for a wild animal... maybe it's an illusion? Hmmm... but that wouldn't explain why I am hurt... Cindy? Ideas?"

"I guess you could have been hurt when the building over there collapsed, under the wolf.", the bible pointed out, "There is a cloud of dust settling, so it must have been rather recent."

"I guess that's possible.", Musalis agreed. The wolf was sitting quietly, so she decided that for now it was not too much of a threat. She turned her main attention towards the stranger, which, as it turned out, wasn't a stranger at all. She knew him from the King of Darkness Tournament, and his name was... uh... had he even introduced himself back then? She couldn't remember him having done so. Introduction were probably in order.

"Anyway, I'm Musalis, Priestess of Ochre. I believe we met during the Tournament, but I cannot seem to recall your name. Maybe this town erodes longterm memories as well. In that case, we should endeavour to leave as soon as possible."